Big Brown is definitely back. On Saturday the 3-year-old phenom showed his affinity for the turf by romping over a salty field of older runners in the $500,000 Monmouth Stakes - a race sponsored by his own barn (IEAH Stables) and specifically carded on the grass at 1 1/8 miles. The colt used the Monmouth Stakes as a final tune up for his attempt to capture the Breeders Cup Classic this October, and likely Horse of the Year honors. The Classic will be run over the synthetic surface at Santa Anita, and trainer Rick Dutrow, like many handicappers, seems to believe in the turf-to-synthetics angle which suggests that a horse that runs well on turf will fare similarly on synthetics. It’s not always the case, but it seems to be the case more often than not.
Breaking from the 4 hole in the Monmouth Stakes, Big Brown was expected to rate behind some of the early speed positioned just to his outside, including Get Serious and Fagedaboudit Sal. Instead, jockey Kent Desormeaux sent the colt right from the start of the race and took a commanding lead over the entire field. Big Brown can be seen tossing his head all over the place in the early going, but Desormeaux was able to get him to calm down and focus on the task at hand. For a bit it seemed that Get Serious would fight Big Brown for the lead, but Brownie kept about a 2 length lead on him before powering down a bit in the middle of the race to conserve some energy for the stretch run.
As the field neared the final turn, Big Brown seemed to be coming back to the pack, but it was all an illusion as Desormeaux knew he had more horse left in him and sent Big Brown gunning for the wire. As expected, some of the seasoned vets came running at him, including Shakis and Proudinksy. Proudinsky in particular was sent in an all out drive to catch Big Brown and looked like he may have had the colt in his sights with about a furling to go. Big Brown and Proudinksy locked horns in the final yards, but Proudinksy was never able to make up the final steps on Big Brown, who prevailed by a neck in 1:47.41.
This marked the second race in a row we’ve seen Big Brown defeat a serious challenger - and in to slightly different styles. In the Haskell he was all out to catch a speed-ball front runner. Here in the Monmouth Stakes, he was that front runner and turned back the challenges of his would be assailants. Proudinsky finished 2nd with Shakis in 3rd for a “captain obvious” trifecta that returned $11.
This was clearly Big Brown’s best effort since the Belmont Stakes earlier this year. We haven’t seen the son of Boundary move like this since his jaw-dropping runs in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. It’s good to see him back on his game as he’ll now head confidently into the Breeder’s Cup Classic. He also keeps up his amazing record of winning every race he finishes. With the exception of his pull-up in the Belmont, he’s never had a horse finish ahead of him.
I doubt we’ll get it, but it’s hard to talk about Big Brown and the Breeder’s Cup Classic without mentioning a potential showdown between Big Brown and Curlin. After the Monmouth Stakes, owner Michael Iavarone was quoted as saying “I can’t wait to run against Curlin. If he’s going to show up, he should show up in the Breeder’s Cup. That’s where we’re going to be.” Obviously this is just the latest in a series of barbs between the two camps - who at times have gone after each other in the press more than the Obama and McCain campaigns (luckily we haven’t had any lipstick comments yet). Obviously that’s the race that fans want to see. Before we get too carried away with how good Big Brown looked (and he did look sensational) - let’s just remember that Proudinksy and Shakis are not quite Red Rocks and Better Talk Now. I think that’s worth remembering. However, you can’t take anything away from Brownie today. He was everything his fans wanted to see and it looked like Monmouth got a pretty good turnout of folks there to see him. He certainly didn’t disappoint, and has to be considered the favorite at this point for the Breeder’s Cup Classic - which will be run October 25 at Santa Anita.
Wonderful race! Everthing racing is about!
he never went anywhere-he won the Haskell and only lost one race-because his jockey rode him horrible. you might not like his handlers but he is a talented horse
Tremendous effort by BB. This puts him back into contention for Horse of the year. Keep in mind though; he will have to take on some really good synthetic specialists in Go Between , Colonel John, not to mention Well Armed and Mast Track. The combined life time records of those four horses on Synthetics tracks, hitting the exacta, is a staggering 91%. So if Brown beats these dudes on their favorite footing, than he will clearly be considered the 2008 Horse of the year, regardless of what Curlin does the rest of 2008. The classic is actually starting to develop into a very competitive affair that will offer some huge value on exotics, since the race can go many different ways and will come down to a head bob by one of these. Something a month or two ago, I would have said was looking a little weak Not anymore!. Go between is in solid form and will probably be favored. Colonel with Harty Eoin, is going to be peaking, and the others mentioned are solid local studs that can bring the heat on non-synthetic specialists.
BMC
I don’t get that race here. It looks like he will be good on turf also. I think my horse Colonel John and take him though. It will be fun to see them both in a race.
I hate Shakis.
He definetly delivered! It was back to the old look from when he won the derby and preakness. No doubt he bounced back from the Haskell very nicely. It’s going to be impossible for Curlin to win Horse Of The Year without defeating him in the classic now. Hopefully Curlin will deliver really BIG in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Kevin; must be back on his meds…………………….GLC
home computor is down so I can`t watch from home latley so I had to go to Emerld. Getting putor fixed this week so I can bother you more lol………Bye
Tremendous effort by Brownie. He seems as good right now as we saw in May. That’s definitely a good sign heading into the Breeder’s Cup. It’s good for Big Brown and it’s good for racing. I thought Monmouth (from what I could tell on television) did a pretty good job as well. Looks like they had a decent crowd on their hands considering the current economic situation. Every sector is suffering from that.
I”m still fuming that Cuba didn’t run. I know the Pick 4 wouldn’t have been 1/2 what it paid if he and Big Brown had won, but still - woulda been nice to hit that. Oh well - on to another day then?
Can’t wait to see Zenyatta and Curlin again. Toss in Ginger Punch, Indian Blessing, Street Boss, Mauralakana - wow what a weekend this could be come late October.